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Friday, September 3, 2010

September Seekerville Contest Update

Welcome to the September Contest Update. The contest vault is open and all you have to do for a shot at two copies of Ruth Logan Herne's newest release, Ready Made Family, is tell us what your contest plans are for September. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

Ready or not here's the Golden Heart and RITA submission time line for 2011 More info available on the RWA website:

GH

September 21, 2010Golden Heart contest will open for entries. Contest entry form will be available on this date.

November 15, 2010Entry forms and fees must be received by the RWA Office.

December 2, 2010Entered works must be received in the RWA Office. Failure to meet this deadline shall result in disqualification and forfeiture of the entry fee.

December 30, 2010Preliminary-round judging begins.

March 1, 2011Preliminary-round score sheets due to RWA Office.

March 25, 2011Notification will be sent to finalists by two-day delivery. Phone calls to notify finalists will also commence. Release of official finalist list on RWA website by 2 p.m. CT.

RITA

September 21, 2010RITA contest entry is available for Eligible Novels and Novellas. Contest entry form will be available on this date.

December 1, 2010Deadline for entry forms and fees to be received by the RWA Office.

January 4, 2011Deadline for books to be received at the RWA Office. Failure to meet this deadline will result in disqualification and forfeiture of the entry fee.

January 20, 2011Preliminary-round judging begins.

March 9, 2011Preliminary-round score sheets due to RWA Office.

March 25, 2011Notification will be sent to finalists by two-day delivery. Phone calls to notify finalists will also commence. Release of official finalist list on RWA website by 2 p.m. CT.

Unpublished Contests

Finally a Bride. Electronic Deadline September 10th (Extended!).THANKS RENEE!Each manuscript must have finaled, but not won in a previous RWA or RWA chapter-sponsored contest. Submit the first thirty pages of your manuscript. The first place winner in each category will receive a lovely engraved knife and cake server, suitable for cutting the cake in celebration of THE CALL. In addition, any book that is published as a result of this contest will receive a free entry into the National Readers' Choice Award the first year of eligibility. TWO EDITORS JUDGES EACH CATEGORY.

Launching a STAR. Electronic deadline of September 8. First 25 pages. One editor and one agent judge in each category. The overall contest winner has a star named in their honor through the International Star Registry. An engraved, star-shaped paperweight is presented to the first place winner of each category, and stars cover the frameable certificate provided to all finalists.

BTW The *Launching A Star Contest* is low on *Inspirational *and *RomanticSuspense* categories.

Gateway to the Best. Deadline September 10. Electronic entry includes the first 25 pages. Each entry will be judged by three experienced judges with the lowest of the three scores dropped from the final tabulation. The Grand Prize Winner will receive US $100, a full reading and critique of her entire manuscript by a MORWA Published Author, a certificate, and a "Gateway to the Best Grand Prize Winner" electronic banner announcing the win for the author’s website. The final judges for each category are:Contemporary Series - Laura Barth, Editor, HarlequinHistorical - Esi Sogah, Editor, AvonSingle Title - Katherine Pelz, Editor, BerkleyParanormal - LaToya Smith, Editor, Grand Central PublishingRomantic Suspense - Margo Lipschultz, Editor, HarlequinYoung Adult - Kathy Dawson, Editor, Dial Books/Penguin Group

Fiction From the Heartland. Deadline September 10. Prologue/First Chapter and Synopsis (35 pages total). Finalists entries will be judged by both an editor and an agent. Each entrant will receive two one-page written critiques and detailed score sheets. This is a snail mail contest and electronic contest.

First Kiss. October 1 e-deadline. Send the scene from your book where your couple first kisses. The scene should convey the emotion and romantic conflict between the characters, sparkle with creative dialogue, description, and characterization, and move the story forward. As one of our authors said, “Good kiss scenes are essentially emotional discoveries. The first kiss brings a new closeness… but also a new set of complications.” The final judge is Patience Smith, Senior Editor, Silhouette Romantic Suspense at Harlequin, will judge six finalists.Cash Prizes. Submission : 10 page maximum scene, plus one set up page.

The Suzannah. October 1 e-deadline. Limit 120 entries. Entry should be a maximum of 7,200 words (including synopsis that can be any length, so long as entire entry does NOT exceed 7,200).

"The Suzannah is different from most other writers’ contests in that published authors and unpublished writers all compete against one another in a single pool of entries without categories. Yep, you read that right. Published and unpublished writers all hashing it out together for a spot as one of the six finalists. The only criteria we require is that the manuscript fit within the romance genre and that it be unpublished and uncontracted."

The final round judges will rank each of the six finalists from 1st place to 6th place. The total of all the rankings will be added and the lowest ranking entry will win the grand prize. No other rankings will be given. The respective rankings of the 5 other finalists will not be publicized and all 5 will be listed (and celebrated) on all publicity as finalists, without regard to final round ranking. (see FAQs for examples.) The entrants will receive their final score, but information regarding which judges gave which score will not be given.

Grand Prize Winner Receives Three hundred dollars in cash, donated in memory of romance author Suzannah Nelson Davis, and a trophy. Final RoundAll six finalists will have their entries evaluated by the full panel of agents and editors.

Danielle Poiesz - Pocket Books

Emmanuelle Alspaugh -- Judith Ehrlich Literary

Alexandra Machinist -- Linda Chester Literary Agency

Jill Marsal -- Marsall Lyon Literary Agency

Keyren Gerlach -- Harlequin/Silhouette

Lauren Plude, Grand Central Publishing

Dr. Julie Nelson, sponsor of The Suzannah

MERA: Synospis is not a Four-Letter Word. October 1 deadline. USPS and electronic entries. Submit a synopsis of ten pages or less.The top entry in each category will go to a final judge, an acquiring editor, to choose the overall winner.Categories: Contemporary Romance- Historical Romance - Paranormal Romance -Romantic Suspense - Romance Elements.

Ask us to write a synopsis (which we hate) and don't tell us the final judge. Arrgh.

Best of the Best is a competition between the first place winners of each category. The winner will receive a critique of the first 50 pages by the fabulous Leis Pederson, Berkley Books, Penguin Group (USA) Inc.Best of the Best Judges:Booksellers – Jan Crow and Karla Hoode, Katy Budget BooksBookseller – Kay Meriam, Barnes & Noble

And There's More...

Mills & Boon New Voices! First Chapter submission period is September 6-22. Each chapter may not be longer than 10 thousand words. The Writing Contest is open only to legal residents of the U.K., U.S., Canada (excluding Quebec), Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Check out all the details on the New Voices site.

The winner of the competition will win some fantastic prizes, including publication of the winning entry by Mills & Boon and a Mills & Boon editor for a year!

How Do I Enter?Anyone who hasn’t been published before can enter the competition; all you need to do is upload the first chapter of your Mills & Boon novel to the M&B New Voices website. There’ll be just one entry per person allowed, so make sure that it’s your best! So, get writing!

How Will It Work?There’ll be FOUR stages to the competition:

Stage OneWe want everyone to upload the first chapter of their Mills & Boon novel! The best bit is that you’ll be able to read everyone else’s entry as well – and be able to comment on them too. Let’s get the romance debate going!

Stage TwoThe Mills & Boon editorial team will whittle down all the entries to just ten finalists, who’ll be asked to write the second chapter of their Mills & Boon novel.

Stage ThreeWe’ll ask YOU to vote for your favourite entry out of the top ten. Along with the judges, you’ll decide on the four finalists who go through to the next round!

Stage FourThe finalists will write the ‘pivotal moment’ of their Mills & Boon novel. Then, with the judges, you’ll decide the winner by voting for your favourite.

53 comments
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I think Finally A Bride extended their deadline to the 10th, but don't string me up if I'm wrong. I thought I saw a memo come through email. And Chris Keesler has been changed to Carly Corcoran with Harlequin Historical.

You guys are so great about letting us know the contests out there! I really appreciate it. :) I don't think I'll be doing any contests anytime soon, though...but it's still great to know about the different contests!

Good luck to all those who enter! :D How about I share some frozen yogurt from the new machine at our school's cafeteria? ;) Yum!

Look at Renee, bein' all smart and on top of things! You rock, chica!!!

Tina, oh my gosh, what a splendorific bunch of contests still available.

And the GH and RITA.... Oh mylanta, the GH and RITA... We all know how I CRASHED AND BURNED in the GH, but hey, things happen. It could have been a dreadful mistake. My judges might have been PMSing.... Or suffering from bloat... Or (if Southern) an attack of "the vapours"...

Gassy judges never are quite as discerning as ungassy ones. I read a study on that someplace, funded by the federal government, I do believe.

Right now my only contest plans are to enter the GH this year so I need to push to get my revisions completed soon. Now, that doesn't mean I won't change my mind about that, but with the ACFW conference, my writing budget for several months will be very small.

Gotta get ready for work now. Wish I could stay and enjoy breakfast with you, but, alas, I can't. How about if I grab a chocolate milk to take along with me. That's my contibution to this morning's breakfast cyber buffet.

And Emily??? I just thought she was a Chatty Kathy. Oh my, now THAT brings back memories!! I have never had one of those dolls, which is just as well because she would've never gotten a word in edgewise ...

Okay - I FOUND one I can enter! I don't write specifically romance books, but mine DOES have a romantic element. SOOO I'm planning to enter my current WIP in The Emily (Novel with Romantic Elements category). Also wanna enter it in the ACFW Ohio "hook me", which ends at the end of next month. Better get busy, eh?

Heavy sigh; there are three books that have just come out that I am DYING to read and they haven't hit my Canadian bookstore yet even though I preordered. Every time I read a blog someone is saying -- "Oh, I just read Melanie's or Julie's or Lorna's book and it was so goooood." and it's driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so jealous.

However -- to get back on topic -- this is the year I swore I'd do more than toe-dabble so I'll have to look more closely at the September contests when I get home tonight. Ack!

Thanks for always compling them and giving the links each month. It makes it so much harder to find and excuse for not entering one. LOL.

Thanks for posting these contests. I'm not sure which I will enter, but whenever you post these it keeps me reminded to keep hammering away at it :). What I'm looking for is feedback, feedback, feedback...sounds like contests are a GREAT way to get that.

Mary -- that was just plain mean!!!! It's lucky I know you have a sense of humour or I would think you were actually gloating or something. Humph!!!!

With hope undaunted I am going to my bookstore tomorrow and if at least one of them isn't in I'll be making waves in a really big way and someone might just need to have a healer or at least his apprentice near by...I'm just sayin'.

I'm printing out the rules for the Suzannah...If I enter it will force me to get a synopsis written for one of my WIP's. Plus I think it's a very interesting concept to mix unpublished & published writers!

MELANIE---WHOO HOO'S FROM SOUTH DAKOTA SHARING YOUR AMAZINGLY EXCITING DAY WITH YOU!!!!!!!

Hi Seekers! I just wanted to pop by and share my incredibly exciting news with you. It's even a perfect day since the topic is Contest Update and if not for my LONG history as a contest diva I would never have learned all that I did about improving my writing. And I might never have sold to Silhouette Desire!

I have enjoyed watching you escape Unpubbed Island one by one. Helped me keep the faith. Bless you all!

I think I might enter the MERA synopsis contest.I've entered 2 of my WIP's into several contests earlier this year, but have another I really like the story, but am having a hard time getting on paper. Maybe if I concentrate on the synopsis the story will come easier.

...and I'm still waiting for the final results in the TARA. I looked up the other two finalists in the contest, and both of them were western historicals too. Now how often does westerns sweep the historical category? (The others have excerpts of their stories on their blogs, and I think I like theirs better than mine. I hate it when that happens...)

My plans for September are playing my grandbaby who is 11 weeks old now. Soooo sweet! Also praying for him. He has to have a heart procedure done on September 30th. I know all will be well.plhouston(at)bellsouth(dot)net